Sunday, September 23, 2007

Another Project Finished

The Leopard Dress is done! This is New Look 6583 in Savannah's favorite "color." Of course, it will look much better with some black tights, and a turtleneck tee underneath. But, we couldn't find those things this afternoon and we wanted to go ahead and post the picture.

Originally I planned to just do the base model of this dress which simply has the two flounces out of the main fabric. But I had this piece of black and white gingham lying by the ironing board, and I started playing around with it and wondering how it would look as a contrast fabric. So I cut two more flounces out of the gingham (Nothing like narrow hemming four flounces instead of two!) and basted it all together. I liked it, so I kept it. You can't really tell from the picture, but the gingham really breaks up the leopard and adds a "girlie" touch to the outfit. Plus, I'm thinking of doing the jacket out of black corduroy and I'll be able to use the leopard and/or the gingham for trim!

This dress is really easy. Narrow hemming the flounces was time consuming, but not hard. I considered using my serger to do a rolled hem, but decided that wasn't the look I was after. It would have been much quicker, and it's something I might try next time. There are only four pattern pieces to this dress- front, back and two flounces, so cutting is quick. It goes together in a flash, too. I used an invisible zipper because they're so quick and easy to insert. You can't see it, but I used bias strips of the gingham to bind the armholes and the neck edge. I made a size six, and there's plenty of room for a tee underneath and to grow. Thank goodness I took the time to trace this pattern before cutting because I can easily see myself making this again later.

And here is the Lizzie McGuire dress and shrug that I blogged about a while back.

This is Simplicity4248 out of Hello Kitty quilting cotton trimmed in white crocheted lace. The shrug is lime green Kona cotton. The silk flower is a pink daisy from Hobby Lobby with the stem removed and a pin back attached so that it's removable.

This dress turned out cute, but really short. Savannah won't be able to wear it very long. I made a size six, as usual, and I didn't think to check the length before cutting. It would have been very easy to add a couple of inches to the dress pieces. I won't be making this again, but I have lots of other Lizzie McGuire patterns and I know now to check the length if I decide to make any others.

So this wraps up two more works in progress. I have two smocking projects going right now, too, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing night in my armchair tonight watching TV and smocking. I might post pictures of those later. If I share them, I'll hopefully feel motivated to finish them quickly.

2 comments:

She is such a doll!! I adore her hair. The pink dress ir adorable. Buy her a pair of lace trimmed hot pink leggings and she can wear it right through next spring! The gingham was a stroke of genius. I LOVE it!